Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Parmesan-crusted Chicken

Crispy, cheesy, flavorful chicken...what could be more delicious? Okay, maybe a lot of things. But for meat-eaters, sometimes nothing beats some crispy fried chicken. A lot of my (and my husband’s) favorite dishes at places like Noodles or Carrabba’s or Spageddies have some sort of breaded chicken, so I thought it was high time I made my own (slightly healthier) version. It took a few attempts, but I eventually got just the right breading and seasoning mix for some delicious homemade Parmesan-crusted chicken.

Ingredients:

~3 chicken breasts, filleted or thinly sliced for 6-8 pieces

~2-3 large eggs, beaten (I’ll typically use EggBeaters)

cooking oil of choice (I use canola)

For the breading:

~1-1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese (I use the typical Kraft-in-a-container stuff, but fresh grated would work as well)

~½-1 cup bread crumbs of choice (plain, panko, seasoned...I’m particularly fond of pulverizing old cereal such as Kix or plain Cheerios - works just as well and the cereal doesn’t go to waste!)

blend of spices to taste (suggested quantities listed):

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

1 tsp marjoram

1-2 TBSP garlic powder (you can never have too much garlic!)

NOTE: If using seasoned breadcrumbs, reduce seasoning quantities as desired. Fresh spices would also work, but make sure they are well-dried (especially garlic) so the mixture doesn’t become clumpy.

Pour cheese, bread crumbs, and spices in a large bowl and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs.

Heat about 1 TBSP of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Dredge chicken slices in the egg, then coat both sides with the breading mixture. Fry covered in the pan (in a single layer) for about 3-5 minutes each side, depending on thickness, until cooked through and crispy on the outside. Repeat until all slices are fried, adding more oil when necessary.

If you have extra egg and breadcrumbs leftover, mix them together and fry it up to make a delicious appetizer patty!

Instead of frying, I have also baked the chicken: dredge each piece in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Arrange all pieces in a lined baking dish and bake at 400F for about 20-30 minutes (until cooked through, depends on thickness of the chicken), or broil on high for about 6-7 minutes each side.

This lightly-breaded, lower-cholesterol (if you use EggBeaters) Parmesan-crusted chicken can be served as part of a variety of dishes (recipes to come!):

NOTE: The Parmesan-crusted chicken in the broccoli-pesto cavatappi dish is baked instead of fried.